Various surgical operation devices using a master and a slave for performing an operation have been developed; examples thereof can be found in the following references:    Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2001-137257 (published on May 22, 2001),    Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 7-136173 (published on May 30, 1995),    Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 7-194609 (published on Aug. 1, 1995),    Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 8-117238 (published on May 14, 1996),    Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 7-184929 (published on Jul. 25, 1995),    Computer-guided Microsurgery: Surgical Evaluation of a Telerobotic Arm (Microsurgery Vol. 21, No. 1 (2001), pp. 22-29).
Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2001-137257 discloses a remote manipulation device, as a master, having multiple pivots, and, for observing/treating an intravital site, a medical-use manipulator, which acts as a slave that is activated by remote manipulation of the remote manipulation device and includes multiple pivots. It also discloses controlling movement of the medical-use manipulator in accordance with manipulation information transmitted from the remote manipulation device.
Among the reference art disclosed in the above references, that with the object of performing laparoscopic, abdominal surgery by using a robot is not intended to suture appendicular microvessels. The reference “Computer-guided Microsurgery: Surgical Evaluation of a Telerobotic Arm” (Microsurgery Vol. 21, No. 1 (2001), pp. 22-29) has as an object of performing microsurgery, but a joystick-type operation appliance is employed therein.
When microsurgery such as rejoining a severed finger is performed, a bayonet-type appliance, such as a needle-holder, a pair of scissors, or pair of tweezers, is used for carrying out exfoliation, suturing or the like of a microvessel, nerve or the like. The microsurgery may be performed with these appliances. When a peripheral joint below the elbow is used to move an appliance, then either a finger or a hand holding an appliance moves the appliance, or movement of a hand/wrist/carpal joint moves the appliance. Here, there is considered to be 8 degrees of freedom in the movement of the appliance. However, there is no master arm or operation device that intuitively propagates the movement of a hand/wrist/carpal joint or a finger that operates the surgical appliance to a slave arm.
The present invention is made in view of the problem described above and has as an object to provide a surgical operation device on which an operator conducts real movement of a hand/wrist/carpal joint, a hand, or a finger as though operating a surgical appliance during surgery so that a multiple pivot slave arm is easily manipulated.